iHide My Relationship
by dpp3530
Summary: CAM story based on some of the events of the 4th season.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: After months of lurking here reading and reviewing other people's work, I thought it was about time I posted something of my own. Thanks to Janie, Rachel, and especially Hayden for your support. **

Riding home in the car, Carly sulked silently in the back seat next to Sam. Freddie, sitting in the front seat, was too engrossed in Spencer's somewhat sensationalized recount of his epic battle with Aspartamay to even notice that the girls were quiet – too quiet. Sam noticed, though. She knew exactly why Carly was mad, and she knew she should apologize, but stubbornness was a Puckett trait, and even with her best friend, apologies were hard for her.

Arriving on the 8th floor of Bushwell Plaza, Freddie bid his friends goodbye. Sam had tweeted about his "adventure" with the fangirls when they arrived at Webicon, so he knew his mother, who followed iCarly, would be making plans to check him over for ticks, girl-cooties, injuries, or whatever else her overprotective imagination came up with. Freddie also knew that delaying the inevitable only made it worse, so better to get the humiliation over with now, rather than suffer more later.

When they got inside, Sam immediately headed for the fridge. She knew Carly would want to talk, but eating Spencer's leftover chicken from last night would buy her at least a few more minutes to think of a good excuse, or maybe figure out an escape plan. Telling Carly the whole truth wasn't really an option.

"This 'stume is kind of itchy, I'm going to go take a bath and change," Spencer announced.

"Okay, Aruthor," Carly replied sarcastically, "we'll be upstairs. Shave your toes!" They both ignored Spencer's whine of protest.

"Sam," Carly began in _that_ tone, "upstairs, now!"

"But I'm eating!" Sam mumbled around the chicken leg she was shoving into her mouth.

"Bring it with you, we have to talk," Carly replied, annoyed. The two friends made their way up to Carly's room. Once inside, Sam plopped down on the couch with the container of chicken, while Carly locked the door and walked over to stand above Sam, her hands firmly on her hips. The look in Carly's chocolate brown eyes told Sam that she had run out of time. Her face fell and she swallowed hard, bracing herself for what was coming.

"Just one question, Why?" Carly squealed. "You knew I really liked Adam! Why would you do that to me? I helped you when you liked Pete. I _hated_ Jonah, but I put up with him _for you_, at least until he tried to kiss me. The point is, I've been supportive when you liked someone. But you, you have to tie Adam up and let him get mauled by obsessed Creddie fans, after doing the best you could to ruin my chances with him. Why?"

Sam had racked her brain on the way home, and on the way up here. For someone who could usually lie and con her way out of anything, she couldn't believe she was at a total loss now. Maybe Carly was like Kryptonite to her, or maybe it was just time to tell her the truth. Now, how to bring it up…

"I noticed a Cam fan in the back raising her hand, and I wanted to head her off before she got a chance to talk," she started. "That would have hit a little too close to home."

"Cam?" Carly questioned, but then Sam saw the dawning in her eyes as she figured out the acronym. "Ohhh… Wait! What do you mean 'too close to home'?"

"The truth is, Carly, that I didn't like your crush on Adam because…" her voice faltered. The chizz was going to hit the fan now. "Because I have a crush on you." The words came out quickly, in a single breath. Sam stared down at her toes, waiting for the blowout from her friend. When it didn't come immediately, she looked up at Carly, only to see her totally speechless, mouth agape. "Carly?" she ventured.

That seemed to snap Carly back to the real world again. "You… You… You're gay, Sam?" she stuttered.

"I don't think so, Carls. I think it's just you. Like, Wendy's a close friend too, but I've never noticed how cute _she_ looks in a pair of skinny jeans, or gotten lost in _her_ eyes. On the other hand, I never felt that way about Pete or Jonah, either. Sure, I've checked out some hot guys, but I honestly think you're the only person I feel this way about, period. I'm not even sure it's a crush. I think I'm in love with you." Sam's confidence was returning, and her tone reflected that.

"Wow," Carly said as she released the breath she didn't realize she was holding. "Sam, I need some time to process this. I'm seeing some things in a whole new light, and I'm not sure how I feel about them." Carly sighed heavily before continuing, "I… I think it would be best if you went home tonight."

Sam was crestfallen. "Carly, I…" she started before the other girl cut her off.

"Sam, I'm not upset, " Carly stated calmly, "and I'm not throwing you out of my house, or anything like that. I just need some time alone to think things over, okay? You're my best friend. I just never considered… _that_. Or maybe I did all along and just didn't notice." Astonished by what she'd just admitted to herself as much as Sam, Carly went silent. When she spoke again, her voice was a little more commanding. "Sam, please, just go."

"Okay," Sam mumbled as she walked out of Carly's room. She was slightly disappointed that Carly didn't walk her out, but she knew she'd just dropped a major bomb on her friend. She just hoped the damage wasn't fatal to their friendship.

Walking downstairs, she spied Spencer sitting on the couch, dressed normally in a penny tee and jeans. He looked up from _Celebrities Underwater. _"Hey kiddo, I thought you were spending the night?"

Sam smiled at him. Spencer was such a loveable goofball. "My mother called and needs me to get her some… uhm… ointment."

Spencer could tell she was lying, but the look on her face said not to press the issue. "Oh, in that case, see ya tomorrow."

"Yeah," Sam said, not at all confident of that. She walked out of the loft. As the door closed behind her, she sighed heavily. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes, and she fought to maintain her Puckett composure. Carly had given her a glimmer of hope, and she chose to cling to that, like a castaway to a piece of driftwood. It was going to be a long night. Walking to the elevator, she glanced back at the door to 8C wistfully. A very long night for both of them…


	2. Chapter 2

Monday morning, Sam walked into Ridgeway. Carly was standing at her locker. Sam smiled at her uncomfortably. "Hey," Carly spoke first, with an awkward smile as well. Sam couldn't help but notice that Carly was wearing her butterfly blouse, and a pair of black skinny jeans. She looked positively gorgeous. _Now's not the time, Puckett_, Sam thought to herself.

Carly looked at her calmly. "I was thinking after school we could go to Skybucks and talk."

_This is positive_, Sam thought, but she questioned, "Why not the Groovy Smoothie?"

Carly smiled slightly, "I'd rather not run into Freddie or anyone else we know. I want to have a private conversation." At that moment, the technical producer in question came around the corner, and the two of them tried to act like nothing unusual was going on.

Since many of their classes were together, as well as with Freddie, they kept the deception up as much as they could for the rest of the day. To say things were awkward between them, though, would have been an understatement. Both Carly and Sam found themselves waiting for, but also fearing, the end of school. Fortunately, Freddie had a Mathlete practice session ("Big tournament on Saturday," he told them) after school, so they didn't have to think of a creative way to ditch him at the end of the day.

Skybucks wasn't crowded as they walked in, and most of the people there were zoned out in the glow of their own laptops. After getting their coffees at the counter, they sat at a table in the corner, away from the other patrons. They sat in an uncomfortable silence, which seemed to drag on too long.

"So," Sam finally spoke, "you look nice today."

Carly was nervous, and she blushed at Sam's comment , "Sam, you really shocked me the other night. I had some trouble wrapping my head around what you told me… But then, the more I thought about it, the more things made sense. We've always had a _really_ close friendship, and maybe that's because neither one of us wanted to be 'just friends.'" Sam's heart leapt at this, noticing Carly's phrasing, as her friend continued, "In some ways, you've always been like a boyfriend to me, protecting me, doing nice things for me, and showing me the side of you no one else gets to see. Maybe that's why none of my relationships lasted very long. They never compared to what I already had with you."

Sam was encouraged. She wasn't sure where this conversation was going, but it didn't sound like she was being given the brush-off. More to the contrary, but she had to be sure. "What are you saying, Carls? I'm confused."

Carly locked eyes with Sam and took a deep breath. "You said you thought you were in love with me Saturday night. I can honestly say that I never thought of it consciously until that day, but now that I have, I came to a realization late last night. I realized…" She paused, swallowing hard, "I realized that I'm in love with you, too. I have been for a long time. I just didn't see it." Carly was smiling now, a genuinely happy smile, something that hadn't graced her face all day.

Sam's heart was thundering in her chest. This was so much more than she had hoped for this morning. She had a grin from ear to ear as a sudden understanding hit her. "You wore that outfit especially for me, didn't you? You wanted to make yourself look hot for _me_?" That thought floored her. She'd seen Carly dress up for guys before, all flirty and sexy, but she never – in a million years – expected to be the object of her friend's attraction. It was almost surreal.

Carly again locked eyes with Sam, noticing - not for the first time – what a beautiful shade of blue they were. She realized now that she could lose herself in those eyes, and that wouldn't be a bad thing at all. As she spoke again, the awkwardness of the day began to lift. "Of course I did, silly. After my epiphany, I knew that if we didn't try this," making a motion with her hand to indicate the two of them, "that we'd regret it for a long time… forever."

Sam was already lost in Carly's dark chocolate eyes, and she never wanted to be found. "So you want to be my girlfriend?" she asked quietly, still overwhelmed.

Carly scooted her chair closer to Sam's, leaned over and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips. "If you'll be mine," she answered.

If Sam had any doubts before, they were washed away. That small peck meant so much more to her than the kiss she shared with Freddie. As their geeky friend would say, it was a galaxy away. Her lips tingled in a way she never wanted to end. She started to pull Carly in for another, more passionate kiss, but the brunette stopped her, "Not here. I'm not ready for that yet."


	3. Chapter 3

Spencer Shay stood in his living room contemplating his latest creation, a 6 foot tall Easter Bunny made of Peppy Cola cans and cotton balls. Suddenly the door burst open and Sam and Carly entered the loft. After Sam left so abruptly Saturday night, he had texted Freddie to see if he knew what was up. Freddie had told him about Sam's antics at Webicon, so Spencer was sure Carly was mad about Adam. Why she got so worked up over a relationship that they all knew would just fail like the others, he didn't know, but he did know better than to confront his little sister about it. An angry Carly was a force to be reckoned with. Besides, he knew Carly and Sam would make up. They always did. Sam was a constant in their lives, like the rain in Seattle. From the way they were smiling and laughing, he surmised that the girls had, indeed, made up.

"Looks great, Spence," Sam commented, staring up at the bunny.

"It's for the convenience store across the street," Spencer explained, "they're running a promotion and wanted something to attract customers. Besides, with as much Peppy Cola as Carly drinks, I could have made 3 or 4 of them."

Carly gave him a look. "Hey, I like being peppy," she protested. "Sam and I are going up to the studio to brainstorm for the next _iCarly_. I don't think Freddie's coming over. He said something about a mother-son crochet class." Carly heard her little blonde mumble something about knitting himself a blankie, but she chose to ignore it, and the two headed upstairs.

As soon as the studio door was locked behind them, Carly proceeded to the car prop, sitting down in the bench seat. She patted the seat next to her, motioning for her new girlfriend to join her. While Carly had made out in the back seat of cars before, with some of her previous crushes, she had never went any further than kissing and a little petting – fully clothed, thank you. She was flirty but not easy. She was pretty sure Sam had even less experience, in fact, as far as Carly knew, the blonde's one and only kiss was with Freddie, until today, that is.

Sam sat down next to Carly, their hips touching, as they almost always were. But now, somehow, that meant more than it ever did in the past. "Now, about that kiss you wanted…" Carly whispered. Sam put her hand on the back of Carly's neck and brought her in for the most magical kiss either of them had ever experienced. Sam kissed Carly deeply, trying hard to convey the passion she felt for the younger girl. Carly reacted, her hands finding Sam's back and pulling her closer. The blonde's ample chest pressed against the brunette's, and even fully clothed, the action sent shivers down the spines of both girls. A small moan escaped Carly, and Sam emitted something like a growl. No tongue was exchanged - it was their first "real" kiss after all - but the kiss seemed to go on forever.

When they finally pulled away, Sam stared into her new girlfriend's dark eyes. "Mama likes," she whispered.

"Shoosh, yeah," Carly replied, pulling her in again.

After a few minutes, they came up for air again, and Sam took the opportunity to ask, "Are we going to tell your brother and the nub?"

A look of trepidation crossed Carly's face. "Can we wait a little while? I think Spencer will be okay with it, but he's terrible at keeping secrets. Freddie… It might take him awhile to get over it. And, I really don't want it to get around school yet. Not that I think Freddie would say anything, and not that I'm ashamed of it or anything…"

Carly was beginning to ramble faster, so Sam cut her off with another short kiss. "Carls, it's cool. I understand. I honestly don't care what other people think, but I do care how you feel. If you're not ready to go public, Mama's got your back." The two of them just smiled dumbly, staring into each other's eyes for a few minutes, until their reverie was broken by the ding of the elevator. Sam instinctively jumped to the other side of the bench from Carly.

Spencer got off the elevator, carrying a bowl of cubed fruit. Noticing the questioning look on her brother's face, Carly spoke up, "We were thinking about a Thelma and Louise bit for _iCarly_ and we were blocking it out, that's all. We weren't mak…"

Carly was rambling again, so Sam jumped in to save her from herself, "Do I see fruit?"

**AN: Reviews are always appreciated. **


	4. Chapter 4

A few weeks later, the three friends were in Carly's living room planning the next _iCarly_. Well, Carly and Freddie were, Sam was busy vegging out on the couch. Since Webicon, the show had experienced a major boom in popularity, and besides just the show, they were also getting requests for autographs and even some personal appearances – being careful not to end up in another Nora situation, they only made appearances at public events. Sam, of course, hated work of any sort, but even Carly and Freddie were starting to need a break, or at least some help. Spencer suggested hiring an intern. After weeding through a whole lot of losers and nubs, they met Brad, who not only impressed Freddie with his technical skills, but also made the most delicious homemade fudge.

After Brad left, the three were discussing who to hire, as if there were any doubts, but Carly pointed out they had one more applicant. Then Cort walked in. They all knew he was too dumb to be of any use to the webshow, but when he took off his shirt, neither Carly nor Sam could help it. They were entranced by the fine male specimen in front of them. Thinking with their hormones instead of their brains, they hired Cort on the spot.

That night, as they lay side by side in Carly's bed, Sam was restless. "Hey Carls," she began hesitantly. "Yeah, Sam?" Carly mumbled beside her. Sam sounded very vulnerable as she asked "You're not thinking of dating Cort, are you?"

Carly didn't even hesitate, "Of course not, I happen to be in a very happy relationship, thank you." This brought a smile from the blonde, and Carly continued, "He's just… hot. Not that you're not, but he's different. Besides, I caught some drool on your chin when he took his shirt off too."

Sam was sheepish, "Well, yeah, the boy is definitely hot, but I have a pretty special girlfriend myself. Besides, something about him brought out my motherly instincts." Carly looked at her questioningly. Sam laughed, "Yeah, obviously I didn't get those from Mom."

The two girls rolled to face each other in bed. Blue eyes met brown and Sam scooted closer to Carly. In the darkness, their breasts pressed against each other through their t-shirts, a now familiar feeling that both teens were really starting to enjoy. Carly pressed her lips tightly against Sam's for several minutes. "I love you, Sam," the younger girl whispered when they separated.

"I love you too, Carls," the shorter blonde returned. The two fell asleep in each other's arms.

On Friday night, the show ended early when Cort dumped a bag of lemonade on Freddie's laptop. After pleading his case to fire Cort, unsuccessfully, Freddie returned home with his laptop, in full overprotective mother mode. This left the girls alone, together.

Plopping down in the red beanbag, Carly motioned for her girlfriend to join her. Sam dragged the yellow beanbag closer and plopped down into it. "You know, Sam, I've been thinking…"

"I try to avoid that as much as possible," the blonde smirked.

"Seriously, Sam, I was thinking that since we're dating, maybe we should have, um, pet names for each other."

"You mean like 'baby' or 'sweetie'?" Sam asked.

Carly locked eyes with her, "Not exactly, nothing so cliché. Something more specific to us. For you… well… I know only Mama gets to call herself that, but I was wondering…"

"Carls, I would be thrilled if you called me Mama," Sam gushed. "Now what to call you…"

"Actually, Mama, I have an idea about that. Do you remember the Crazy Hat Party after the first _iCarly_?" Carly questioned, shyly.

"I think you read my mind… Cupcake!" Sam all but shouted, pulling her girlfriend in for a deep kiss.

"Hey Sam," Carly whispered when they separated, "only in private for now, okay?"

Sam smiled warmly, "Anything for my Cupcake." Inside, though, she wasn't as happy. It had been almost two months since that fateful conversation at Skybucks, and they hadn't even told Spencer yet. Carly knew as well as Sam did that her brother would be accepting. Spencer wasn't gay, but he did have friends in the art community who were, and neither girl had ever seen any trace of homophobia in him. Sam was beginning to think that Carly was ashamed of their relationship, or worse, ashamed of her. A cold shiver ran through her at that thought, and she pushed it out of her mind. She was just happy being with Carly and the brunette wasn't pushing her away. Carly wasn't ready to let the world know about the change in their relationship, and as much as Sam wanted to walk through the halls of Ridgeway holding hands and proclaiming that Carly was _her girlfriend_, what she had just said was true. It was all about her Cupcake. Besides, she knew Carly could be downright bullheaded sometimes, and forcing the issue would only end badly, so Sam maintained her trademark Puckett Cool, and Carly didn't notice her girlfriend's inner conflict.

**Reviews are always appreciated.**


	5. Chapter 5

Fortunately for the webshow, and the participants involved, Cort's tenure on the show was short lived. After Freddie pulled a surprisingly devious trick, hiring his own beautiful but apparently dumb intern, Ashley, he was able to convince the girls to fire Cort. Only then did he reveal that Ashley was a straight-A psychology major who worked at the Brilliant Bar in the PearStore, and it was all a trick to get rid of their "himbecile." Even Sam had to give the boy credit for the scheme.

Another few months went by with Carly and Sam dating in total secrecy. Sam was becoming increasingly concerned about her partner's reluctance to admit to their relationship. After Freddie suggested a _Twilight_ bit at one of the _iCarly_ meetings, she had a flash of brilliance and decided to take a different approach.

"How about if I take first crack at the script, then you guys can go over it afterwards?" She suggested.

"You hate _Twilight_," Carly piped up.

"And work!" Freddie chimed in.

"Yeah, but it's a parody, so I get to make fun of it, which is something I do well," she stated. "And I have some really good ideas for it. Maybe work the Idiot Farmgirl in there. And, you, Frediffer, you get to be the vampire, cause you already suck."

"Sam!" Carly admonished.

"Well, can I do it?" Sam queried, her voice flat.

Freddie looked at Carly and Carly looked at Freddie. The tech producer spoke first, "Never argue when _Sam_ is volunteering to do work for a change."

"Freddie, be nice," Carly felt like she was babysitting. "Okay, Sam, it's yours."

Both Carly and Freddie were shocked when Sam didn't show up for lunch the next day at school, especially since it was barbecue riblets. When Carly sat down next to her in English the next period, Sam was not only there early, but she was all smiles – very unusual for Ms Briggs class. "What's up with you? And where were you at lunch?" Carly asked, very surprised.

"Chill Cupca.. er, Carls, I had some bidness to take care of," Sam almost slipped.

Carly didn't want a fight with her girlfriend, so she ignored the near miss, but she did want to know why the blonde was acting so strangely. "What kind of 'bidness'?"

"It's a surprise – a good one," Sam smirked. "Groovy Smoothie after school? The dork's got an AV club meeting, so it'll be just us."

"When can I ever say no to you?" Carly blushed, realizing she'd said that out loud, in a classroom full of students. She was saved by the bell, and the appearance of Ms Briggs.

A few hours later, as the last bell rang dismissing the students, Sam was waiting for Carly at their lockers. She gave Carly a surreptitious wink, and the brunette smiled back. After Sam threw her books in her locker, and Carly loaded up her homework into her backpack, the girls left the school grounds headed for their favorite hangout. Along the walk, Sam desperately wanted to hold Carly's hand, but she knew without a doubt that her Cupcake would balk at this, and she didn't want a fight. Not now, not with what was burning a hole in her own backpack, waiting for her to show it to Carly.

The girls got their smoothies and sat down at a table in the corner, hips practically touching as usual, even though there was plenty of room at the table. "So what were you doing at lunch?" Carly asked quietly.

"I was down in the library," Sam began, matching her girlfiend's tone, before being interrupted by Carly.

"You were in the library, on purpose?" Carly exclaimed.

"Yeah, I needed a computer, and our printer at home is broken. I had to finish this." She said, returning to quiet mode, before triumphantly dropping a thick stack of papers down on the table. "I present, _Moonlight Twi-Blood._"

Carly was in shock. She expected to be hammering something out at the last minute since Sam conveniently forgot. "You… You actually wrote it!" Looking it over, she was impressed, "And it's good!"

Sam had a giant grin on her face as Carly read it over fully. The smile drooped just a little as Carly spoke next, though. "Sam, don't you think it's a little… suggestive?" Then, in a whisper, "I said I'm not ready to go public yet."

"Well, that's half the fun, Cupcake," the blonde said, ignoring the last part. "The nub will be so excited to be the star that he won't catch anything between us, and Gibby is clueless on a good day."

Their often-shirtless friend was a bit obtuse, to say the least, and Sam did have a point about Freddie. "But what about the fans?" Carly questioned.

"Well, the Cam fans already think we're doing each other anyway," she started, causing her partner to blush, "and the Creddie fans will see you with Freddie as your 'vampire boyfriend' and beat them down on the message boards, so relax."

Sam was right again. The die-hard Cam fans did get a raw deal on the message boards. As it turned out, they were right, but it hadn't been confirmed on the webshow yet, and for now, Carly was content that way. This skit would add more fuel to _everyone's_ fire, so what was the harm? "Like I said before, when can I say no to you? We'll do it," she finally agreed.


	6. Chapter 6

The next week, Freddie was at Carly's loft editing (or Frediting, as he called it to Carly's dismay) the video shot from Sam's script, while Spencer was showing off his latest creation, an egg shooter which promptly burst into flames, when the little blonde burst into the apartment. "Let me on that computer!" she cried, "have you seen it?" Ignoring Freddie's complaints as she shoved him off the stool, she opened the web browser and went to Splashface, searching for "Nevel Papperman," managing to insult Spencer in the process. He left in a huff as she clicked the top link and the three friends watched a video of their nemesis screaming at a little girl after he dropped a jar of bread and butter pickles.

"This is bad for Nevel," Freddie remarked. "Yeah, this will ruin his life," Carly agreed. Then, they started dancing around and rejoicing in their sworn enemy's downfall. As they were celebrating, Freddie's PearPhone buzzed. He glanced at the screen and frowned. "Aw Chizz! Time for my weekly tick inspection," he groaned. "I'll see you guys later for the show."

Sam had a wide smile on her face as she watched Freddie solemnly walk out the door. She knew it was wrong, but the thought of Fredward Benson suffering just made her laugh. Suddenly she felt arms around her waist. She could feel Carly pressed up against her back. Carly kissed the back of her neck, causing a shiver through her body and a tingle between her legs.

Sam could feel Carly's breath against her neck as the younger girl spoke, "Hey Mama, you know what we should do?"

Sam had some ideas of her own, but she didn't think that's what Carly had in mind. They would get there one day, but for now they were both content to share intimacy fully clothed. "Um, what's that Cupcake?" she replied, having no idea where her partner was going.

The brunette, ever the social butterfly, was on a completely different track than her girlfriend. "I think we should have a Karma Party for Nevel. You know, to celebrate his downfall. We can have games, and food. It'll be fun."

"You know me, babe, I'm always up for a party." Sam cheerfully replied. "But for now…" she squirmed around so that she was facing the taller girl, and placing her hand on the back of Carly's neck, she pulled her in for a passionate kiss. "I think we should take this upstairs before Spencer comes back," she whispered.

Later that evening, after continuing the show's long tradition of bad science experiments by freezing Gibby in a tub of ice cubes to prove that ice is very cold, _iCarly_ had the world premier of the new short film, _Moonlight Twi-Blood_. It started with a variation of the old Idiot Farmgirl skit, but Sam had made a few changes this time. For one thing, Carly's farmgirl was much more emboldened than in previous incarnations. She shamelessly flirted with Sam's cowboy, even going so far as to pet the blonde's moustache. Sam also conveniently forgot to cover her most feminine feature, her long blonde hair, while playing the cowboy. Not that the fans wouldn't recognize her, but she wanted there to be no doubt that the flirting was going on between two girls. It was all part of her plan.

While Carly had enjoyed this closeness with her partner while they were filming, now she couldn't get the notion out of her head that they had gone too far. She loved Sam in every way, she knew that, but she was still afraid of what the world would think. Outwardly, Carly Shay was the confident, self-assured host of her own webshow. Inside, though, Carly was still a little girl, clamoring for the attention and, even more, the acceptance of everyone around her. The thought of someone being disappointed in her, Spencer, Freddie, Grandad, or even her fans on _iCarly_, was too much for her to bear.

Sam, for her part, just hoped her plan worked. She knew the fans would comment – how could you _not_ notice the innuendo – but she just hoped the comments would be positive enough to make Carly see that it wasn't necessary to keep their relationship in the shadows.

Freddie, as Sam expected, was so excited to be the star of the skit, that he didn't even catch on to the fact that in Sam's script, not only was he forbidden to touch Carly, her farmgirl even called him "stupid" – twice.

And Gibby, well, he was still too cold to think straight.


	7. Chapter 7

Every Friday night, after the webshow, Sam spent the night at Carly's, and she usually ended up spending the weekend. It was a tradition dating back to the first _iCarly_, but it had more significance now. Sam loved those nights she could spend in bed with Carly, with her arms wrapped around the younger girl, just listening to her partner's breath. She thought of that feeling now, sitting at Carly's desk/makeup table waiting for her girlfriend to finish showering. As she listened to the water running, Sam's daydreams turned to the day, once they both turned 18, that they could move into a small apartment together and she could spend the whole day in the arms of her Cupcake. Yes, Sam had it all planned out, although like most of her plans, it wasn't thought out completely.

Case in point: her highly suggestive script. As she browsed the message boards and _iCarly_ fan sites, she realized that her plan wasn't working out the way she wanted. While the Cam fans had certainly noticed, they were but a small, vocal minority. At least the comments were positive, but mostly in the "I knew it" variety. Nothing she could use to convince Carly. Most of the buzz was surprisingly about the nub. Girls all over the internet were raving about how hot Freddie was. You dress a dork up in a vampire costume and the girls go all woozy. Freddie, of all people – it made Sam nauseous.

Carly came out of the bathroom wearing a nightgown, her dark hair falling damply on her shoulders. Her hair had soaked the top of the nightgown, and it clung sporadically to her thin frame. Carly may not have been the most voluptuous girl at Ridgeway – a fact that many of the jocks at school often commented on (but never when they knew Sam was around) – but she had an exotic, almost Asian, beauty and a feminine grace that none of the other girls there could match. Sam's breath caught in her throat as she watched her partner walk slowly across the room, even more so when Carly's dark chocolate eyes met hers. "Whatchya looking at, Mama?" Carly chirped.

"Just reading the message boards. It's not fair. I do all the work and 'Fredward Cullen' gets all the glory!" Sam whined.

"Oh, just go take a shower," Carly replied, giggling slightly. As Sam got up, Carly slid into the chair she had just vacated. Carly turned around and watched her girlfriend's hips sway as she walked toward the bathroom. Sam's body was curvy and muscular, and Carly had always been slightly jealous until they started dating. Now that she spent many nights with Sam's body pressed tightly against hers, she could no longer be envious of her partner. She rather enjoyed being the beneficiary of those curves. She heard the shower start as she turned on the hair dryer, and she closed her eyes, letting the warm air rush over her and picturing Sam naked in the shower. _Wow, if I keep this up, my hair won't be the only thing that's wet, _Carly thought.

A little later that night, Spencer was just returning home from his dinner date with a red haired girl he had met at the Armenian bakery down the street, when his cell phone rang. He looked at the caller ID as he answered, "Hey Socko, what's up? … No, I didn't see _iCarly_, I was out with Adrianna… Not so well, I didn't tell her I was an artist. She thinks artists are weird. Do I look weird to you… Oh, you're a comedian now? Anyway, what about _iCarly_?... Yeah, the vampire thing… I told you, her friend Sam wrote it… What do you mean flirting?... No, Sam does not have the hots for Carly... Dude, that's my sister… Oookay, I'll watch it… Yeah, the message boards, too… Later, Socks!"

Spencer didn't want to wake the girls, so he went into his room and plugged his earbuds into his PearPhone, then brought up the latest _iCarly_ episode. _So that's where my bathrobe went_, he thought while watching the first segment. Then the Cowboy and Farmgirl appeared. Initially, he laughed his friend off… _Socko's nuts, they're just being Carly and Sam_. By the end of the segment, though, he was starting to wonder if Socko had a point. Swiping his finger across the screen, he scrolled down to the comments. One in particular near the top caught his eye:

**CamFan1130****: iCarly is supposedly a kids show, but if that had been any hotter, the LCC would be on their backs. Those girls are definitely doing it.**

Spencer's mind wandered back to a few incidents in the last few months, where he had walked in on Carly and Sam alone, and they jumped away from each other. It reminded him of something, he just couldn't place it… GRIFFIN. _Oh my God, Carly's dating Sam!_ Spencer thought. Then he shrugged. If that's what made Carly happy, who was he to argue. Sam and Griffin were both "bad boys" (er.. girls), but Spencer didn't know Griffin well enough to trust him with his precious baby sister. After eight years, he knew that Sam could knock a truck driver out with a carton of milk, or break someone's thumb without a second thought, but in all that time – no matter how badly they were fighting – she'd never laid a hand on Carly. He knew Sam would never hurt her, or make her do something she didn't want to. If anything, it worked the other way. His sister made Sam doing things she didn't want to all the time, usually to Sam's own benefit. They were good for each other.

_If Carly marries Sam, does that mean I have to go to family dinners with Sam's mom? Ugh! _


	8. Chapter 8

The following afternoon, the trio was decorating the loft for Carly's Karma Party. With Spencer in the kitchen preparing the pun-inspired menu that Carly and Sam had dreamed up, the kids had put up most of the decorations without any questionable fires. Freddie glanced at his watch. "I have to run down to Schneider's Camera and pick up the poster size picture of Nevel for the dart board before they close," he said to no one in particular.

"Hey Freddo, you want a ride?" Spencer questioned. "I gotta run to Hey Food for more apples anyway. It's right across the street."

"That'd be great, Spence," the tech producer replied, "That thing's not heavy, but it is awkward."

"Much like yourself," Sam smirked from the couch, earning her 'the look' from her girlfriend. She shut up.

As soon as the door closed behind the boys, Sam jumped up off the couch and headed into the kitchen. From the living room, she heard Carly's voice, "Sam, what are you doing in there?"

"Just looking to see if Spencer finished making the Karma-Q ribs, Cupcake," her partner replied.

For a second, Carly considered letting her go, as she knew Sam liked to eat ribs without a shirt, and that was certainly an enjoyable proposition, but if the blonde eating machine that was Sam Puckett got a hold of those ribs, all that would be left for the party would be a few necklaces made of the bones. "Sam, no," she cried, running into the kitchen, "those are for the party. Besides, Mama," she continued, licking her lips seductively, "I can think of better ways to keep your mouth occupied."

About 15 minutes later, Spencer and Freddie walked off the elevator into the 8th floor hallway. As they approached the door, Spencer spoke loudly to Freddie, "Apartment 8C, here we are, home now."

Freddie looked at Spencer like he had two heads. He matched the older man's tone, not knowing why, "Okay, Spencer."

Spencer listened carefully, and from inside, he could hear a rustling sound, as if two teenage girls just jumped up off the couch and ran quietly across the room. As they came inside, Sam walked out of the kitchen just as Carly made a big show of walking down the stairs. Carly's lip gloss was smeared, and Sam's lips were kind of shiny, too. _Socko was right,_ Spencer thought to himself. _I guess I should say something mature and responsible to her, I am her guardian after all._ He racked his brain, but he had nothing. _Oh_ w_ell, they've made it this far, they can live without my advice a little longer_.

The party was a big hit, and it went on for hours. Spencer had gone out for the evening, at the trio's instance. He trusted his little sister. Knowing what he did now, at the very least he was sure she wouldn't be hooking up with some random guy before the night was over.

When the party was over, Gibby volunteered to help cleanup. Sam was pretty sure he was just after the last of the pudding in Carly's refrigerator, but the more people cleaning up, the less work she had to do. Gibby texted his mother to let her know he'd be late.

Carly was just showing the last of the guests out the door with what Sam sincerely hoped was the last of the bad puns for tonight, "Karma-gain, okay." The blonde surveyed the room, realizing that the cleanup was going to suck. She decided to procrastinate just a little longer.

"One final toast to the downfall of Nevel Papperman," she cried, boisterously. They all clinked their soda bottles, and the rejoicing went on until Gibby walked out of the bathroom praising the wonders of liquid soap. Freddie's Pearphone chirped. He had just gotten a text from one of the girls at the party, who was smitten with his vampire portrayal. He let out an extremely girlish laugh, causing both Sam and Carly to roll their eyes. The doorbell rang. Carly answered, expecting that someone had left a cell phone or something. She was totally unprepared for the person standing in her doorway.

"Nevel?"

The trio's arch nemesis was quickly subdued by the blonde demon, although she was surprised that he didn't put up more of a fight. The bravado that the little hobknocker usually displayed was completely gone, he didn't even threaten to sue. Soon he lay hog tied on the couch, where Sam threw him. As Gibby left to buy more pudding, Nevel expressed his remorse for his actions, and his wish to condone for past sins. He needed the trio's help.

It was in Sam's Puckett genes never to take anyone – except Carly – at face value, and she was skeptical of Nevel's motives. She was rather surprised when Freddie expressed the same concerns. Even Carly, who always saw the good in people, tried to believe Nevel, but she couldn't suppress her doubts. They decided to put the boy to a test and make him prove himself.

"You see this sneaker?" Sam questioned. "My foot's been sweating in it for over a year. Here's a half-drunk can of Wahoo punch." She poured the contents of the can into her shoe. "Drink it," she commanded. Nevel started to retch and balked at the suggestion, but with additional urging from the remainder of the trio, he finally relented and took a big gulp.

"What's this?" Nevel asked, pulling something from his mouth.

"Dead cricket," Sam replied, thoruoughly unfazed. She watched in amusement as the boys tried hard to keep their food down. Her enjoyment was spoiled when she realized that her prissy little brunette companion was in the same predicament. She hopped off the couch, hobbling on one shoe, and went to her girlfriend's side. "Come on Carls," she whispered, guiding Carly into Spencer's bathroom. She closed the door and held Carly's hair until she had finished, then gently helped her back to her feet.

"Sorry, Cupcake, I didn't mean to..." She stuttered. She met Carly's dark eyes, looking for the anger she assumed would be there.

"It's okay, Sam, I encouraged it too," Carly weakly smiled. "I just wasn't expecting the cricket."

"Neither was I, hun, that was just an added bonus," Sam replied, smirking. Glancing at the door to make sure it was still closed, she leaned in and gently kissed Carly's lips. "Wow, Carls, you need a breath mint or something," she laughed.

"Sam!" Carly admonished, but she couldn't help laughing too.


	9. Chapter 9

Sam's idea of conflict resolution usually involved someone's face and her fists, so Carly knew if they were going to fix Nevel's image problem, it was up to her and Freddie to think of a way. The four of them sat at a table at Inside-Out Burger, eating lunch and brainstorming ideas. Nevel had paid for lunch, but Sam still didn't trust the little buttmunch. Carly's and Freddie's trust might be earned with fast food, but she was more vigiliant – or paranoid, depending on one's view. That wasn't a bad idea, though. She spoke up, "How about giving away lunch or something to show people you're not _all _bad?"

Carly was astonished that her girlfriend had contributed to this discussion, and more so that it was a good idea. Sam was just full of surprises lately. She jumped on Sam's bandwagon, "How about smoothies. Everyone loves them, and I'm sure we can work a deal out with T-Bo."

"Oooh," Nevel perked up. "I can give away some of my famous creamed spinach, too"

"Ew!" Sam and Freddie said in unison. She punched him in the shoulder. "I told you to stop that."

Carly agreed with her fighting friends, "I don't know, Nevel, that stuff's pretty gross."

"How about creamed corn? Grandpappy Papperman had a secret recipe," Nevel suggested.

So it was that the following Saturday found the group at the Groovy Smoothie, with Nevel sitting at a table loaded down with smoothies and baggies of creamed corn. The trio prepared to record this for _iCarly_.

Sam and Carly stood in the corner near the restrooms, quietly planning their banter for this special webcast, while Freddie set up his camera. Out of the corner of her eye, Sam noticed an attractive brunette walking up to Freddie and starting a conversation. "Look Carls," she joked, "Freddie might be getting some tonight."

"That's Patrice from 3H, in our building. She's had a thing for Freddie since that whole Shadow Hammer incident. At least it keeps him from bothering me," Carly replied, blushing a little bit. Sam's comment about getting some had started her mind down a naughty road. To take her mind off it, she changed topics, "This was a really good idea you had, Sam."

Sam smiled, "You must be rubbing off on me, Cupcake."

And Carly's mind went faster down that road. Glancing around to make sure no one was listening, she leaned closer to Sam. "Not yet, but it sounds like a good idea," she whispered with a sly wink.

Sam stood, stunned into silence. She recovered her composure just in time to see the tech producer come bounding toward them. "Nub at ten o'clock" she replied to Carly, who made a zipping motion across her lips.

"You guys! Can I please do more vampire stuff on _iCarly_?" Freddie pleaded, sounding for all the world like a little kid asking for candy in the checkout line.

"Can we just record this?" Carly was a bit frustrated by the end of her conversation with Sam and it showed in her tone.

Freddie ran to his camera. "Yeah, whenever you're ready," he said in his sultry vampire voice.

Sam, still a bit flustered, would have none of it. "It doesn't work on us!" She noticed the daggers flying from Carly's eyes and the hands on her hips, and the message was clear. _Way to almost spill it, Sam!_

Sam subtly raised an eyebrow, with a small smile on her face, conveying _Sorry Cupcake_ back to her partner.

It was all over very quickly, and the girls were in-character for the show. Freddie, still on a high from his conversation with Patrice, missed the whole thing.

"Hey, Carly and Sam here at the Groovy-O Smoothie-O..." Carly started.

"With America's number one dipwad," Sam still couldn't hide her disdain for Nevel, even on camera.

"Former dipwad," Carly chastised.

"Maybe."

Sadly for Nevel, Sam's plans hadn't been working out lately. Public response was overwhelming. If anything, the comments – involving pickup trucks and golf clubs – were even more negative than before. The people clearly thought Nevel was trying to buy them off.

Spencer sat in the kitchen, counting a bowl of screws. He had been waiting more than a week for Carly to discuss her new relationship with him. He decided to prod her a little bit, "Do you guys want any advice from me, or _anything_?" His eyes pointedly moved between Carly and Sam.

"No, we're good," his sister replied, clearly not getting it. This frustrated him even more.

The dipwad in question sat on Carly's couch, his head spinning with the negative comments. He was at a loss as to what to do next. Carly proposed a brilliant idea. It was something Sam would never have thought of herself – her mind just didn't operate that way. Nevel would go on-air in the next episode and sincerely apologize to the world.

At Carly's suggestion, Nevel went home and started writing a speech which he would read on the next _iCarly_ webcast. Carly had phoned his mother, who would not only make sure that he actually wrote it, but that it was honest and self-deprecating enough to atone for his actions.

The trio sat on beanbags in the iCarly studio, planning out the webshow. Carly suggested that they find the little girl Nevel had wronged, and bring her on live so that he could beg her forgiveness in person. They all agreed that this would go far toward repairing Nevel's tarnished image, but Freddie brought up a problem.

"We don't even know who that little girl is," he pointed out. "How are we going to find her?"

"True," Carly agreed. "I guess we'll have to let it drop."

Sam could tell that her Cupcake was disappointed. She wanted the girl on the show. Sam knew what she had to do, and she had a good starting point in mind.


	10. Chapter 10

The following day at school, right after third period, Sam stood in front of a locker on the third floor. It wasn't hers, but she was pretty sure the owner could help her.

"Puckett," came the voice she was looking for, from behind her. She turned.

"Rodney."

"What can I do for you? Concert tickets, Fat Cakes, I've even got hall passes – spelled right this time," the boy they called 'Rip-off' went into his sales pitch.

"I need a little girl," Sam cut him off.

Rodney was taken aback, "I don't do kidnapping, or is this some kind of indecent proposal."

Sam grabbed his collar, "The only thing indecent around here is your prices! Word is, you can get anything for anyone, if the price is right."

"That's true, so what girl are we talking about?" Rodney questioned as she let him go.

"You saw the Nevel Papperman video on Splashface, right?" Sam asked. When Rodney nodded, she continued, "I need to know who the little girl is. I need to get in touch with her for _iCarly_."

"That's a really tough get, gonna cost you more than a t-shirt this time," the con-artist warned.

"Sam Puckett Legal Defense Fund," she replied.

"Meet me here this time tomorrow. I'll have a name and phone number."

This was actually going to be easy for Rodney, but he wasn't about to let the intimidating blonde know that. The girl was actually his second cousin on his mother's side, he recognized her the first time he saw the video. Rodney's mom had the phone number in her address book at home. _Easy money_, he thought.

Friday afternoon, Sam told Carly she had to "do a thing for her mom," and that she'd be at Carly's in time for the show. She took the cross-town bus and walked to a small house just a few blocks from Nevel's mansion. She rang the doorbell. A woman in her mid-twenties answered. To Sam, she looked a little like Carly in about ten years. "Angela?" Sam asked.

The woman smiled, "Yes. You must be Sam?"

"That's right," Sam answered. "Are you and your daughter ready?"

Angela nodded, "Molly's so excited to appear on your show. She thinks she's going to be on TV. I told her it was close."

With Sam in the passenger seat and Molly securely in back, Angela drove to Bushwell Plaza, following Sam's directions. As they walked toward the entrance, Sam stopped them. "You wait out here until I text you. I'd tell you to wait in the lobby, but Lewbert..."

"What's a Lewbert?" Molly asked.

"The meanest doorman in all of doormanity," Sam replied, in a scary voice. "He hates everyone, but especially little girls."

Two minutes later, Sam strode into apartment 8C without knocking. Carly was surprised, "Sam, you're early!"

"Spencer around?"

"Shower."

Sam strode over to Carly and pulled her close. "I couldn't wait to see my favorite Cupcake," she grinned.

"I better be your _only_ Cupcake. Now behave," Carly playfully admonished.

"Is that anyway to treat me when I bring you such a wonderful present?" Sam mocked. She pulled out her cell phone and sent a quick text.

Carly knew her partner was up to something, but she didn't know what. Knowing Sam, though, it wouldn't be good. The doorbell rang less than 2 minutes later.

"You'll want to get that," the blonde suggested.

"Someone get the door, I'm getting dressed," Spencer shouted from his bedroom.

Carly opened the door, and was greeted by the sight of young Molly, holding a shopping bag, her mother standing behind her. Her jaw dropped. She motioned for them to come in and shook hands with Angela.

"Can you excuse us for a second?" Carly asked, grabbing Sam by the hand and dragging her up the steps. In the hallway outside her bedroom, they stopped. "Sam, how?"

Sam was grinning from ear to ear, "I knew you wanted her on the show, Cupcake."

"But how did you find her?" Carly was still in shock.

"Let's just say I blew half of the Sam Puckett Legal Defense Fund. You're just going to have to keep me out of trouble for awhile," Sam half-joked.

"I can do that," Carly grinned. "I love you, Sam!" she cried, pulling her girlfriend in for a kiss.

After a few seconds, Sam pulled back. "Easy, Cupcake. Kid downstairs,"

By the time they got back to the living room, Spencer was busy chatting up Angela, who turned out to be a single mom with a fascination for art. The girls took Molly upstairs to the studio and hid her backstage to await her cue. They left Angela with Spencer shortly before Freddie and Nevel showed up to start the show.

After more Gibby torture, this time involving African Blowfish, the girls introduced Nevel. The disgraced web reviewer walked on-camera, dressed smartly in a suit and tie. He shuffled the papers he was holding, then began to read.

"My name is Nevel Amadeus Papperman. I stand before you tonight to sincerely apologize for my inexcusable..." Nevel's voice started to crack. He tried again."Inexcuse..." Finally he threw the papers down, When he spoke again, even Sam believed that he meant every word. "I don't know why I acted the way I did. I do know that it was very, very wrong, and for that I apologize. I just wish I could apologize to that little girl."

Carly knew they couldn't have planned that better. She spoke to Nevel, but knew that Molly was listening from backstage, "Nevel, you have something to say to Molly?"

No one had ever heard Nevel sound so contrite as when he apologized to Molly. When she told him that it was okay, Sam could see Carly's eyes misting over. When she told him that she brought him something, Carly's tears began to flow. When Molly pulled out a jar of bread and butter pickles, Carly collapsed against her girlfriend, her head resting on Sam's chest. Sam grimaced at such a girly scene, but she couldn't help enjoying it as well. Carly looked up at her and silently mouthed the words, "Thanks, Mama."

Spencer and Angela had been downstairs drinking root beer and watching the webcast. When Freddie had quickly cut to the girls, and he saw his sister crying against Sam, he thought it might be a good time to get her to come clean. Excusing himself, he ran upstairs, but as he entered the studio, he realized that he didn't want to intrude on their moment. Freddie had already caught him on camera, standing behind Nevel and Molly, and he just stood there, looking awkward until Feddie said "And... we're out."


	11. Chapter 11

Later that evening, as they started to get ready for bed, Sam went into the bathroom to brush her teeth. Carly had been making sure she brushed nightly, as no one, particularly Dr. Wheeler, wanted a repeat of Sam's last dental visit. As she squeezed the toothpaste onto the brush, she felt her girlfriend's arms snake around her waist from behind, and the now familiar feeling of her Cupcake's breath on the back of her neck. "Ya know, Mama, Spencer is having movie night at Socko's tonight. We're all alone," Carly's voice was seductive, and as she spoke, her hands moved up Sam's torso until they were cupping the blonde's breasts. Sam's nipples started to respond through the t-shirt and bra, and she could feel Carly's own nipples, pressed tightly against her back, getting hard as well. The feeling was indescribable, and Sam really wanted to continue, but she didn't feel comfortable taking their relationship to the next level while Carly insisted on keeping it secret. Sam didn't always do emotions well, but to her it felt bad. Their relationship was nothing to be ashamed of, but having sex in secret would make it feel meaningless and empty, at least in her mind.

"Whoa, Cupcake. I don't think I'm ready for this yet." Sam reluctantly spoke.

"Sure feels like you are," Carly replied, winking seductively at Sam in the mirror. "Don't you like this?"

"Carly," Sam turned to look her in the eyes, "can you just respect the fact that I'm not ready to go any further, just like I respect the fact that you're not ready to come out yet?" She pushed past Carly and stepped into the bedroom.

"No. No I can't." Carly replied, following her. All of the emotion from earlier had made her feel very romantic, and she wanted to share those special feelings with her partner. They had been together for months, and it was time to make Sam her lover. Carly could be a very demanding Cupcake when she wanted to be. "Samantha," the teen continued, hoping the use of her girlfriend's full name sounded romantic, "don't you understand that I love you completely, and I want to be with you in every way possible?"

"Yeah, every way except the way I want," Sam grumbled, her impulsive nature kicking in as she sensed a fight brewing. This had been building for some time and she had to get it out. At the brunette's questioning look, she took a deep breath and spoke very calmly, "Carly, I want to be with you in every way possible too. To me, though, that includes walking into the Groovy Smoothie hand in hand, or kissing in the hallways between classes at school. Ya know, just _being a couple_. I love you. I want everyone to know that. If you're worried about the kids at school, don't. They know better than to mess with Sam Puckett's girlfriend."

"Sam, I just can't!" Carly cried. "I'm so afraid that someone will be disappointed in me for being in a…" Carly whispered the next part, looking around nervously, "_lesbian relationship_. I don't know if I can handle that."

"If you love me as completely as you say, what does it matter?" Sam countered. "I don't want to live our whole lives in secret, worried that I'll slip somewhere and expose us – you. I'm tired of hiding, Cupcake. Can't you at least tell Spencer?"

"NO!" Carly cried. "Sam, no. Spencer raised me for the last 10 years, since Mom died. Dad was always overseas, and Grandad checks in from Yakima once in awhile, but Spencer, he's the only parent I really have. If he stopped loving me because of this, I'd just…" her voice trailed off.

"Carly, he won't. I've known Spencer for 8 years now. I've never seen him show anything _but_ love for you. He'll accept this, I know he will. _You_ know he will."

"I… I can't take that chance. I won't. Please, if you love me, you'll give me more time," Carly pleaded.

"How much? 6 more months? A year? You're always going to be afraid, you're always going to need more time." Sam stood and walked over to Carly's bedroom door. She turned to face her partner once more. "You know Carly, I do know the difference between right and wrong. I may do some things that are bad because I enjoy them, but I always know when I'm doing wrong. Our love isn't wrong. It's probably one of the most _right_ things I've ever done in my life, but I can't go on. I'm tired of you being ashamed of me." She was in tears now as she looked at Carly expectantly.

"Sam, I just need a little more..." Carly started before Sam turned away angrily. Carly knew she had to say something to keep Sam from leaving. "Don't you love me?" she softly cooed.

It almost worked, but Sam's antagonistic personality was running in full force. She immediately blurted out the first thing that came to her mind, "Not when you're unreasonable, I don't!" She regretted those words before she finished the sentence, but she wasn't backing down. She turned back halfway and her voice softened a little, "Just Spencer?"

Carly didn't answer, she just stood there and bowed her head. Sam could see hurt and defeat in those brown eyes, but she didn't give in. This was too important to her. "Call me when you change your mind," she grumbled, opening the door.

Sam slammed Carly's bedroom door behind her, dramatically. As she walked toward the stairs, she could hear Carly sobbing from inside her room. She hesitated. _Maybe... No! I had to give her that ultimatum. _She walked down the steps and out of the apartment that had been a second home to her for years, wondering at that moment if she would ever return.


	12. Chapter 12

Sam walked toward her apartment building, which was in a somewhat lower class neighborhood a few miles from Bushwell Plaza. She could have taken the bus, but at this time of night, the bus had too many drunks, lechers and hobos on it – she couldn't deal with that right now. It was a clear night at the end of May, perfect for walking.

As she passed the next bus stop, though, her penchant for laziness made her question that decision. She was coming off the adrenaline high from the fight, and the walk seemed like it would take forever. She knew she could always take the bus, Carly bought her a bus pass every month. Yeah, she'd just sit here and wait for the next... _Carly_. The thought hit her like a ton of bricks. _Why did I say that to her? She's never going to forgive me, and I can't even blame her. Stupid, Puckett, real stupid!_

Her legs gave out and she sat heavily on the deserted bench. She rolled onto her side and curled into fetal position on the dirty green plastic. Her trademark cool had completely failed her. She felt lost. She had felt bad when she broke up with Pete and Jonah, but this was way beyond that. Carly wasn't some simple crush she would get over next week. Carly had been her best friend for almost nine years. Her world revolved around Carly Shay, long before they started dating. Now that world was crashing down. Despite what she had said in anger, she loved her Cupcake, as a friend, romantically, even like a sister. _Sister!_

Sam sat bolt upright. _Oh my God, I'm a hippopotamus! Wait, that's not it... Whatever... I'm yelling at Carly about not telling her brother, and I haven't told Melanie, or even Mom. _She stood up and started walking again, fishing her cell phone out of her pocket in the process. She scrolled through her contacts and found her twin's number. She pressed Talk and waited for an answer.

"Sam?" came a similar, but much more upbeat, voice to her own. "You do realize it's 10:30 at night?"

"Yeah, Mel, I know. I.. I needed to talk to you," her own voice was a little shaky.

Melanie was genuinely concerned for her sister's safety now, "Are you in trouble?"

"No, it's nothing like that. I had a big fight with Carly tonight and I realized I'm a hippo... hippo..." Sam faltered.

"A hypocrite?" her sister offered.

"Yeah, that's it. Anyway, I was mad at Carly for not telling her brother, and I haven't told you or Mom yet either. Mostly because she didn't want me to, but still..."

Melanie was confused, "Told us what, exactly?"

Sam hesitated. Telling her mother was going to be easy. Pam would either accept it, or they'd just get into another fight over how disappointed she was in her younger daughter. While these fights didn't happen nearly as frequently as they did before the Therapy Box incident, they were still not an uncommon occurrence in the Puckett household. Either way, Sam didn't really care that much. Melanie, on the other hand, was a different story. Despite her insistence that her sister made her sick, Sam really did love her older sibling. They had shared a womb, then a room. Melanie Faye Puckett was born first, in the back of a bus thanks to Pam's poor planning, with Samantha Michelle Puckett meeting the world sixty-one seconds later. For the next eight years, the twins were each others' only real friends. After Carly Shay, Melanie was the only person Sam could truly say she loved.

Sam took a deep breath, "Well, Mel, it's like this. Carly and I have... um... been... ah... _dating_ for the last six months."

The surprise was evident in Melanie's voice. "You and Carly are _together_?" she exclaimed, putting a clear connotation on the last word.

Sam wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but Melanie's tone made her feel something she didn't feel often – real fear. She had already lost Carly tonight, she couldn't lose Melanie too. She'd have nothing left. She wanted to backpedal, play it off as a joke, but she knew she couldn't. "I love her, Mel. I don't expect you to understand. She completes me." Those chick flicks Carly always made her watch were rubbing off.

"It's okay, Sam, you just surprised me," Melanie replied, sounding much less judgmental. "I kind of get it, really. You two have always been really close. So you're dating Carly. That's going to take awhile to get used to, but if that's what floats your boat, who am I to judge?" She paused for a second, then she understood the implications of what Sam had said earlier, "But you said you were fighting?"

"Yeah, I screwed it all up tonight, I think," Sam answered, sounding as humble as her sister had ever heard. "We've been keeping our relationship secret, because she's afraid to tell anyone. I pushed her to tell Spencer, and we started fighting. She asked me if I loved her, and I told her no."

Melanie felt for her little sister. "Oh, Sam," she whispered. "Why did you say that?"

"She had me all riled up," Sam explained, "and you know how I get when I'm mad. It just came out, before I could stop it. The thing is, I really am tired of hiding. I feel like she's ashamed of us, ashamed of me. Then tonight, she wanted to go, um, _further_, and I just couldn't."

Melanie shuddered a bit at her sister's innuendo. She was trying to be open minded, but this was _really_ going to take some getting used to. She wanted to be the wise older sister, and give Sam the benefit of her experience, but this was way outside her comfort zone. Same-sex or otherwise, she didn't have any relationships to draw on, she was always too busy with school. Much like her sister, her one and only kiss had been with Freddie Benson, and it was questionable if that even counted since he thought she was Sam at the time. Melanie sighed. If she couldn't give advice, she could at least be a sounding board. She gave what she could, "So what are you going to do?"

"Actually, sis," Sam replied with a slight mischievous lilt to her voice, "I have some ideas I'd like to get your opinion on. You're going to be home the end of next week, right?"

Sam was right. Melanie's school year was ending, but Ridgeway had a few more weeks to go, thanks to a teachers' strike at the beginning of the year.

The twins spent the next eight blocks discussing Sam's thoughts on what to do about Carly, with Melanie offering her help and advice. This was probably the longest that the girls had talked in years, and the conversation only ended when Sam lost the call in the elevator of her own building. Sam felt better than she had in hours. Everything might really be okay, after all. Emboldened by her sister's love, she strode confidently into the apartment she shared with her mother.

"Mom, we need to talk."

Pam Puckett surprised her youngest daughter. Sam expected her mother to freak out, but her only response was "at least _you_ won't get pregnant with twins by some guy who never calls you back" before shuffling out the door on one of her so-called dates.


	13. Chapter 13

It was Monday morning at Ridgeway School. Sam Puckett walked in the door, a girl with a plan. Her plan required that Carly did not give her the silent treatment, but that's precisely what she expected from Carly. As she turned the corner toward her locker and saw her (ex?) girlfriend talking to Freddie, inspiration struck. She walked over to the duo.

Freddie saw Sam coming and turned to her, "I was just telling Carly, Brad moved. He starts here today. Principal Franklin asked me to help him get oriented."

Sam's immediate thought, of course, was of food. "The fudge guy?" she questioned. When Freddie nodded, she continued, "Cool, bring him to lunch."

Now she turned her attention to Carly. "Hey Carls!" she began. The brunette's smile fell and she turned back toward her locker. Knowing the nub was watching intently now, Sam put her plan in motion. "I know. You're not talking to me, right?"

Carly also realized Freddie was watching, and she realized that Sam had her right where the blonde delinquent wanted her. If she kept giving Sam the cold shoulder, Freddie would start asking questions she didn't want to answer. She fought to keep the sarcasm out of her voice as she answered, "Of course I'm talking to you, why wouldn't I be?" For a second, she was genuinely afraid that Sam would answer, but the blonde just winked.

The three of them proceeded to Mr. Henning's first period Science class, meeting up with Gibby in the hallway. Mr. Henning was always late, he didn't believe in wasting electricity on an alarm clock. As the four walked into the classroom, Freddie turned to Sam. "Arm wrestle? I've been pumping the guns," he smiled proudly.

"Sure Fredbag," she replied. "Loser buys lunch?"

Sam had to admit, it did look like the boy had worked out. She didn't remember his biceps being that big. The dork might be a man after all. "I'm getting booored!" she singsonged as he sat down.

Carly played along, acting as referee and timing the match on her Pearphone. She secretly hoped Freddie would win this time, out of spite, but she knew he had no chance against the blonde. As expected, Sam beat the technical producer in a matter of seconds – 3.2 seconds to be exact.

Freddie was ecstatic, "That's the longest you've even taken to beat me!"

"Congratulations!" was Sam's sarcastic reply.

At that point, Brad walked into the room, and the quartet's attention focused on him, particularly when he pulled out his famous homemade fudge. After they told him they had fired Cort for being dangerously stupid, he volunteered his services as the new _iCarly_ intern – an offer they gladly accepted.

Talk quickly turned to the upcoming "Lock-In," an annual Ridgeway tradition where the students pulled an all-nighter at the school to finish their semester projects. Gibby warned them about falling asleep, however, as last year he had awoken to a drawing on his forehead, courtesy of Sam.

"That was a pretty accurate drawing..." mused Carly.

Both Carly and Sam managed to play off the following week as if nothing had happened, except that Sam hadn't spent nearly as much time at Carly's loft this week as usual. However, they were not about to disappoint their fans, so Sam was there, on time, for the next webcast. After another successful show, in which they introduced their viewers to their new intern, Freddie suggested to Brad that they return to his apartment to work on their project, an app for the Pearphone that detects people's moods. Everyone was surprised by what happened next.

"Hey, could I work with you guys on your project?" Sam asked.

"You're asking if you can help us?" Freddie said, shocked. "With a school project?" he clarified.

"Yeah, it sounds really cool," Sam replied, causing both Freddie and Carly to question whether it was indeed Sam asking. Even Gibby, who was otherwise occupied eating tuna salad, stared in wonder. Eventually Freddie relented and allowed her to help.

Sam, of course, had an ulterior motive. Brad had fudge. That would have been incentive enough for the blonde. However, she had an even bigger reason. After the events of last week, she knew she couldn't spend the night at Carly's, and this was a good way to leave the loft without it becoming awkward.

The following Monday, Spencer noticed that Carly came home from school, alone for a change. Spencer questioned why she wasn't hanging out with Sam, and she told him that the blonde had gone to the movies with Brad and Freddie.

Spencer was starting to wonder if more was going on than his sister was telling him. Sam hadn't been there much in the last week or so. This was unusual, but Carly wasn't acting like she normally did when she had a fight with Sam. He decided to go with the obvious question. "Sam wants to hang out with them?" he questioned.

"I know, weird, right?" the younger Shay replied. She knew perfectly well why Sam wasn't hanging out with her, and it had little to do with Freddie or Brad. However, there was no way she was going to tell her bother. Then she'd have to explain why they were fighting, and she wasn't prepared to do that now.

Sam hadn't exactly be avoiding Carly all week, but she had been avoiding situations where they were alone together. Carly figured that Sam didn't want to talk about their fight, as she knew the blonde wasn't fond of talking about her feelings. In this case, though, Carly wished Sam would. She missed her best friend / girlfriend / ex-girlfriend terribly.

Sam's real reason for avoiding Carly was much simpler than the brunette realized. Her instinct, when cornered, was to get angry. She was afraid that if she was alone with Carly, the younger girl would confront her about their issues, and she knew things would end up getting "fighty." She didn't want to say anything more in anger that would make the situation worse. She'd done enough of that already.

Carly's breakup with Sam did leave her with another dilemma not related to her heart, however. Originally, she was going to work on a psychology experiment as her project, with Sam and Gibby. It involved subjecting Gibby to a series of tests which her and Sam had devised. With Sam avoiding her, she needed a test subject to replace Gibby, who would now be her assistant. She asked Spencer if he would be their test subject. Initially he resisted, citing his weekly ritual of watching _Cops_ with Socko's Grandmother, but eventually he relented.

Carly then noticed that Spencer was working on a fire extinguisher. _This can't be good_, she thought. She was correct as her brother proceeded to demonstrate his modificatons, and in true Spencer Shay fashion, caused a fire in the process, which his little sister had to put out. Carly wondered, not for the first time, who the adult was in this family.


	14. Chapter 14

It was about 11:30 when Carly Shay woke up. She had intentionally slept in since tonight was the annual Ridgeway Lock-In. It briefly crossed her mind that Sam must be rubbing off on her, and that thought lead to naughtier thoughts, but that wasn't going to happen now. _Dangit Sam, why couldn't you have given me more time? I'd have told him... eventually... maybe..._ She had to admit Sam had a point. If they were going to have a real relationship, they couldn't keep it secret forever. _Maybe I should talk to Spencer. I'll tell Sam tonight. _With them being trapped in the school for the entire night, she was confident she could get Sam alone for at least a few minutes. The blonde couldn't hide forever.

As she got up to take a shower, she became aware of a tightness in her sinuses. A headache was threatening. She had been having bouts of hay fever for the last few days, and the Benedryl she was taking just wasn't cutting it. She'd have to ask Mrs. Benson what to take. Freddie's mom might be a little psychotic, but she did know her medications.

Carly was nervous about telling her brother, as well as having to talk to Sam tonight, so her shower was longer than usual – not quite as epic as some of her previous showers, but long by most standards. After drying off and getting dressed, it was a little before 1:00 when Carly came downstairs. A folded piece of paper sat on the counter with _Carly_ in Spencer's handwriting.

**Went to the junkyard with Socko. Looking for parts for a new sculpture. I'll be home for dinner. - Spencer**

Now was a good time to talk to Mrs. Benson. She walked across the hall and knocked on the door. No answer. She knocked again a little louder. Still nothing. She walked back over to her loft and picked up her Pearphone. She texted a quick message to Freddie: **Where R U?** Moments later she got a response: **Dr w/ Mom 2 get my shots 4 2nite.**

_Crap_, Carly thought, _now what am I going to do?_ She walked into Spencer's bathroom to see if he had anything stronger. Opening the medicine cabinet, she saw the allergy medication that Dr. Dresdin had given her brother. She remembered the side effects that Spencer had experienced, but she was rather desperate. She read the back of the package. It said to take 1 pill every 12 hours. That might be a problem since no drugs were allowed on school grounds, but if she took one before leaving the loft, that should be close enough. She continued reading, and in addition to the extensive list of side effects the doctor had described to her brother, including itching, sweats, extreme thirst, and memory loss, there was one additional note he hadn't mentioned: **May cause mood swings in women**. He obviously didn't think it was necessary to warn Spencer about that, and with good reason. Carly took one of the pills with a glass of water, and put one in her pocket for later.

A few miles away, Sam Puckett was also waking up at 11:30, but for her, on a Saturday, this was normal. She opened her eyes to see the empty bed across the room. This was also normal, but that bed had been occupied when she went to sleep last night. _Little miss perky must already be up_, she thought. She dragged herself out of bed and into the bathroom, hoping her mom had paid the water bill. Apparently she had, as the shower came on. The blonde rinsed off, quickly scrubbing only her smelly parts with soap. She got out and shook her hair out in the bathtub, then ran a towel half-heartedly over her body. Going back to her bedroom, she went over to her drawer and pulled out the first things she could find, a Cuttlefish T-shirt and tan shorts. A bra, boxers, and socks completed the ensemble, along with the sneakers that still smelled of Wahoo Punch. By 11:50, Sam was ready to face the day.

She walked down the hall into the kitchen, and rummaged through the cupboards until she found a box of generic cereal that wasn't too old. She poured a bowl and went to the refrigerator, where there was, surprisingly, fresh milk. She then took her breakfast into the living room to watch TV. An identical blonde was already sitting on the couch when she came in. The History Channel was on TV. Sam picked up the remote and turned on _Girly Cow_.

"Hey, I was watching that!" Melanie protested.

"I get enough education in school, TV is for mindless stuff," she replied. "Speaking of school, you still up for tonight?"

"I told you I'd help, didn't I?" Melanie questioned, pulling the remote out of Sam's hand. She switched the station back. "But only if you let me watch TV without arguing."

"Fine," Sam snapped back. It wasn't really that she cared about watching _Girly Cow_, it was more to push her sister's buttons. "I'll go watch stupid videos on Splashface." She started to walk back to her room, but then she turned around and smiled at her sibling. "Hey, Mel," she said with genuine warmth in her voice, "thanks."

Melanie may have been the good twin, but she was a Puckett. "Who said I was doing this for you?" she quipped. "I'm doing this for my best friend Carly, she deserves to be with someone nice," she finished, winking.

"I thought you were trying to get her back with me?" Sam replied, the sarcasm evident in her voice. Melanie simply smirked at her in reply.

Several hours later, Sam sat in the living room finally watching _Girly Cow_. Her twin came out of the bedroom, and stood in front of Sam. She did a little twirl and asked, "How do I look?"

Melanie looked very un-Melanie-like. Her hair was down and feathered back, instead of in her usual ponytail. She wore a pair of black jeans, a red and beige striped shirt, and Sam's trademark sneakers.

"A little girly, but passable," Sam, who was still wearing the T-shirt and shorts she had worn all day, replied, "but stop twirling. I don't do that. Do you think you can pull off my voice?"

Melanie cleared her throat, and when she spoke, she not only had the voice, but her twin's facial expressions as well. "What are you sayin'? You don't think I can do it?" she huffed.

An evil grin spread across Sam's face. "You're ready," she said.

Melanie's voice went back to it's usual timbre, "Now tell me again why I'm doing it?"

"Because if I'm trapped there with Carly overnight, she's going to corner me and I'm going to say something I'll regret. I've done too much of that already" Sam responded. "Besides, for this to work, you need to flirt with Brad – you might even have to kiss him. I can't do that to Carly." Her voice cracked a little,"I just can't."

"Wow, Sam, you have it bad. I've never seen you like this," her sister said softly. Her voice brightened as she continued, "You know I'm there for you, sis. Let's go get your girlfriend back!"


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: The Seddie fans are going to hate me.**

"Attention students, this is Principal Franklin. It is now 9 PM and all exterior school doors have been locked. If you get hungry during the night, you'll find a food cart in the main hallway. I wish you all good luck with your school projects. Oh, warning, if you fall asleep, the school is not responsible for anything that Sam Puckett might draw on your foreheads. Study hard and prosper."

Carly barely listened to the announcement as she and Gibby prepared their experiment. She wasn't feeling herself tonight. She found it hard to concentrate. _Where is Sam, why isn't she helping?_ she thought, before remembering that Sam was working with Brad and Freddie – oh, and by the way, they had broken up. _Those pills must've been stronger than I thought_.

Down the hall in the cafeteria, Melanie Puckett listened to the announcement as well. She hoped she could pull off Sam's plan tonight. She was supposed to be flirting with Brad, but she couldn't take her eyes off of Freddie. Last year, when they had their erstwhile "date," she had thought he was adorable, but now he was downright hot. He had obviously been working out, and his butt looked great in those new pants. She was so zoned out watching him, that she didn't even realize that the object of her affections was talking to her.

"Sam? You in there?" the tech producer questioned.

"Yeah, Fredward, what's up?" She mimicked her twin's voice and mannerisms.

"Can you run to my locker and bring back my camera?" Freddie asked.

"What's the combination?" She questioned.

Freddie looked confused, "Since when do you need a combination? Anyway, it's 14-36-7."

Melanie ran down the hall to Freddie's locker, the location of which Sam had told her earlier. On the way back, in the main hallway, she passed the food cart that Principal Franklin had spoken of. Among other items, there was a large bowl of guacamole, with some containers and lids. She quickly filled a container and grabbed a bag of chips before returning to the cafeteria.

After handing the items to Freddie, she was surprised when he was suspicious that she had put something in the food. She did have to admit, though, that it was something Sam would do. Working hard not to break character, she was able to convince Freddie that the guacamole was safe.

She took a seat in front of the PearPad and tried to stare into it as requested, but she couldn't keep her eyes off of Freddie. He looked so smart and so _professional_ as he tweaked the system. Suddenly, he looked panicked. She wasn't sure why, but something seemed to have gone wrong. She was starting to wonder if the PearPad could somehow sense the deception, and she had to strain to keep her voice flat as she asked, "Can I move now?"

"So what's her mood?" Brad asked.

"It's inconclusive," the techie answered, doing his best to avoid further questions. He mumbled some sort of excuse about tissues and Carly, grabbed his laptop and ran from the room.

Melanie was beside herself with guilt, as she strongly believed she had ruined his experiment. Lying about her identity was one thing, but Freddie, Brad, and Sam's grades depended on this experiment, and Melanie was too good of a student to let them fail. After taking a minute to come up with a suitable excuse, she left the cafeteria in search of Freddie.

Back in the science classroom, Carly had been busy torturing Gibby in a stimulus chamber designed to test his reactions to various situations of her's and Sam's devising. Except that as she looked at the chamber, she realized that it was her own brother she was torturing, and Gibby was now her assistant. _Man, I am really spacing out here tonight!_ she thought. She didn't like this feeling at all.

Suddenly Freddie came running into the room, holding his laptop. He said that he had finally figured out why Sam was being so nice to him and _Brad_ all week. "I just did an emotion test on Sam," he explained. "Her mood..." He held up the laptop which clearly showed her mood as **IN LOVE**.

Carly was beside herself. Sam was in love? Sam had made it clear that she was no longer in love with her. There was no way Sam was in love with Freddie, she detested him. Maybe it was just the power of Freddie's suggestion, but that only left one person. "'In love'? With Brad?" she exclaimed. Gibby interrupted and said something to her about the project, but she wasn't listening. How could Sam get over her so quickly? She couldn't believe the blonde would do that to her. "Sam's in love?" she said once more, the sadness evident in her voice. At that point, her mind went blank as her emotions overwhelmed her.

The next hour and a half were all a blur of confusion and mood swings to Carly. She remembered confronting Sam, who, of course denied her feelings for Brad. She also had a discussion with Freddie, which lead to the two of them working to fix up Brad and Sam. This seemed wrong to Carly's drug-addled mind, but she just wanted her best friend to be happy.

Melanie was also confused. Sam had been convinced that Carly still held feelings for her, but the brunette actually seemed excited that Sam might be in love with Brad, or she was putting on a heck of an act. Not knowing what else to do, she denied, truthfully, that she was in love with Brad. She was even more confused when Carly and Freddie tricked everyone else into leaving the cafeteria, leaving her alone with Brad. She decided to confront her sister's ex.

She walked into the classroom where she saw Spencer inside a big box with something smeared all over the window. Carly was standing at a laptop nearby. She knew that Carly would never admit anything about her relationship with Melanie's twin if she knew that she was talking to Melanie. She knew she had to confront Carly as Sam. She summoned her sister's angry voice. "Carly Shay!" she demanded.

The younger girl excused herself and walked over, "Why aren't you with Brad?" Carly asked, her thinking process still confused.

"Not cool," Melanie replied, angry that her friend would betray her sister that way. During the conversation, it soon became apparent to Melanie that the younger girl was acting as though she had never had a relationship with Sam. She started to wonder if this was some grandiose prank that her twin was pulling on her, Carly, Freddie, and Brad, and that there never was a relationship to save. But Sam had seemed so sincere when she explained it all to Melanie, both the night of the fight, and again today, that the elder Puckett found that explanation hard to believe. Either way, she was getting angrier, and her own Puckett nature might cause her to say something Sam would regret. She needed time to think, possibly to find her younger sister – whom she knew would be either in the building or nearby. Seeing an opening in the conversation, she gave her best smart-ass reply to Carly – which was totally lame by Sam's standards, and left the room.

She walked through the cafeteria into the school's atrium. The doors were unlocked since you could not leave the school that way. She sat down in the corner and tried to reason why Carly was behaving so unexpectedly. Perhaps her sister _was_ lying, or maybe Carly was essentially giving "Sam" the silent treatment by pretending the relationship didn't exist. None of this made any sense.

She was snapped out of her reverie when she heard a door open. Looking up, she saw her own crush standing in front of her. For a moment, she considered coming clean and asking for Freddie's help, but if Sam was telling the truth, Freddie knew nothing, and it wasn't her place to tell him. In addition, he'd be hurt and angry that she had lied to him all night – if he even believed that she existed. She decided it was best to continue being Sam for now. "Carly send you to find me?" she asked.

"Nope," the adorably cukey young man replied.

"Oh, so you don't know we had a little argument?" she asked, referring to the conversation in the classroom.

"Oh, I heard about the little argument," he responded. "I just said Carly didn't send me."

"Good," she snapped, trying to be as Sam-like as possible.

"Carly's right," he continued, eliciting a groan from her – she had to stay in character.

He continued, repeating much of what Carly had said earlier, but she continued to deny having feelings for Brad. It had been part of Sam's plan that she show feelings for Brad, but she had already denied it several times to Carly, and this situation was confusing enough without sending mixed messages to Freddie. When the young man brought up the fact that she hated him, Melanie denied that as well, knowing that Sam honestly did consider Freddie a friend, and her antagonism toward him was mostly an act. "I never said I hate you," she commented, hoping that was true.

"Yes you did, like 900 times. I still have the birthday card you gave me that says, 'Happy Birthday, I hate you. Hate, Sam.'"

This wasn't helping things. "Just leave!" she groaned, knowing this was how her sister would react.

"Fine, I'll leave. But before I go..."

Maybe threatening him would get him to go. She wouldn't, and for that matter couldn't, hurt Freddie, but the threat of violence from Sam should be enough. "That's it!" She screamed as she jumped up. "Get out of here before I do my double fist dance on your face!"

The boy was persistent. He was clearly willing to help his friend, regardless of his own fate, and Melanie found this remarkably endearing. "You can threaten your double fist face dancing all you want," he said surprisingly calmly, looking her straight in the eye, "but Carly's still right. I know it's scary for you to put your feelings out there, cause you never know if the person you like is going to like you back."

Melanie felt like he was talking to her, not to Sam. She was the calm, rational twin, but deep down, she still had the exact same genes as her sister. Melanie did something completely irrational and impulsive...

Back in the science classroom, the fight with Sam had left Carly feeling even more confused. She wanted Sam to be happy, right, so why did she feel like she was going in the wrong direction. Suddenly the memories came flooding back: the fight, the relationship, the conversation at Skybucks. It was like watching a movie in reverse. She realized she needed to find Sam and sort this out. The blonde was probably furious at her by now.

Gibby was explaining the next experiment to Spencer when Carly walked over. The young man was relieved that Carly was finally going to do some work on this project, but that wasn't the case. "I'm not feeling very well, Gibby," the girl explained, "I'll be back in a few minutes." With that, she walked out of the classroom. What she didn't realize was that Gibby's mike was still live, and her brother had heard every word.

Carly ran down the hallway to the food cart, thinking that Sam's first reaction after a fight would be to go for food. When she didn't see the blonde there, she headed for the cafeteria. Entering the room, she immediately spotted Sam and Freddie in the courtyard. They seemed to be arguing when Sam did something that shocked Carly's mind back to crystal clarity. The blonde grabbed Freddie and kissed him passionately.


	16. Chapter 16

Carly ran into the hallway, tears streaming down her face. Less than five steps from the cafeteria, she collided with someone and fell to the floor. She looked up to see the face of her brother.

"I told Gibby I had to pee so he'd let me out. I heard you say you were sick and I came to find you," Spencer explained. Then he saw she was crying, "What's the matter?"

"Sam and Freddie kissed!" Carly blurted as he helped her up.

Spencer was confused, "Yeah, she told you when she was on the whacky gas, I remember. What's up with you tonight, you're really out of it?"

Carly stared into his eyes trying to make him understand, "No! Just a minute ago in the courtyard. They kissed again, and I saw it."

"What? I thought you and Sam were..." he held up crossed fingers.

"We broke up," his sister blurted out, still upset. "Wait, you knew?"

"Well, yeah," Spencer stated like it was obvious, "I figured it out right after the _Moonlight Twi-Blood_ thing. I've been waiting for you to tell me. When did you break up? _Why_ did you break up?"

"Last week. She wanted me to tell you and I was afraid to. Then we started fighting and she said she didn't love me anymore then ran out," Carly explained.

Spencer was struggling to keep up, "Why would you be afraid to tell me?"

"I thought you'd be disappointed in me, maybe even hate me," Carly said quietly.

"Carly," Spencer looked down into his sister's wet brown eyes, "you're my baby sister. I'll always love you, no matter what. You should know that."

Carly's tears started to flow again, "I was stupid and afraid. You knew, but we still broke up over it. Now I've driven her into the arms of Freddie, of all people. I loved her, Spence, and now I've lost her and I don't know how to get her back. Freddie's a great guy. I'm sure he'll be a wonderful boy..." she couldn't continue. She began sobbing.

"Yeah, like I'd ever kiss that nub again," came a familiar voice from down the hall. Sam turned the corner and smiled at Carly. She had been watching from afar, harnessing her invisible ninja skills, and she saw that this was a good time to make her appearance.

The brunette was confused. Wasn't the atrium the other way, and why was Sam in different clothes? _Those pills must be messing with me more than I thought. Were hallucinations on the list of side effects?_ She ran back into the cafeteria and looked out the window. Freddie was still out there, his back turned to her, having an animated conversation with the girl she had been calling Sam all night. But Sam was right next to her, putting her arm around Carly's back. She looked into Sam's beautiful blue eyes and eloquently said "What?"

Sam gestured toward the window. "Let him get his own Puckett," she grinned.

Realization finally hit Carly. "Melanie," she whispered.

"You got it, Cupcake. There's only one person I want to kiss." She glanced at Spencer, standing in the doorway, and he silently nodded his approval. She pulled Carly in for a kiss, and for a few minutes the younger girl completely forgot they were at Ridgeway, with her brother four feet away. There was only Sam.

Out in the courtyard, Freddie stood stunned. Sam had just kissed him, again. This time, unlike the night on his fire escape, it felt like she really meant it. He had been telling her to act on her feelings for Brad, then suddenly... He stared dumbly at his blonde tormentor turned love interest.

"Sorry," the blonde mumbled.

"S'Okay," he replied.

The two of them stood there in awkward silence for several minutes until the blonde noticed Carly, Spencer, and her own twin enter the cafeteria. She knew it was time to tell Freddie the truth. Melanie cleared her throat and spoke in her own voice for the first time tonight, "Freddie, I'm sorry. I lied to you tonight. I'm not Sam."

Freddie was beyond furious. Sam was just messing with his mind now. First she kissed him, for real this time, now she's trying to pull off that lame twin bit again. It wasn't even funny the first time. "Now's not the time for jokes, Puckett! You already admitted there's no Melanie!"

The twin in question was somewhat offended by that statement, but she didn't show it. She calmly took a breath and said, "Turn around, Freddie."

Freddie turned around to see Carly, Spencer, and a blonde who looked just like the girl he was talking to. Carly and the blonde were talking. He whipped his head back to the identical blonde in front of him, then back to the window. He turned back just in time to see Sam pull Carly in for a passionate kiss. He managed to choke out "What the yuck?" before his world went black.

_Pain. Someone smacked me_. Freddie Benson opened his eyes to see Sam peering down at him, her hand raised to smack him again. Carly stood just behind Sam, and next to her stood another Sam. _Melanie,_ he corrected himself. Melanie grabbed her sister's arm, "He's awake, Sam."

Melanie, in the striped shirt, helped pull him to his feet, then continued to hold onto his hand. He looked back and forth between the three of them, then asked, "Will someone please tell me what's going on?"

Melanie pulled him by the hand, saying "I have change for the vending machine. I'll buy you a drink and explain everything, okay?" He dumbly nodded and followed her.

Carly turned to face her girlfriend, hands firmly on her hips. "You set me up," she stated.

"Gets you back for trying to hook me up with Brad," Sam tried to joke, but it came out flat. She tried a different tactic, "I'm sorry for everything, Carls. What I said that night, I didn't mean it. I do love you, really. I always will."

The brunette met her partner's eyes, "I love you too, Sam, and you were right. I was going to tell Spencer tomorrow, but I wanted to talk to you first. Then I got all whacked out on Spencer's allergy pills, and I didn't know what I was saying." She paused, "He already knew, Sam. We broke up for nothing."

"It's alright, Cupcake, we're back together now – that is, if you want to be," the blonde replied.

"I do Sam, I really, really do. And I don't care who knows anymore." Carly pulled Sam in for a kiss.

What neither girl knew was that Wendy had seen Freddie pass out from the window across from the cafeteria. The red-haired girl was like a human PA system when it came to gossip, and by now a small crowd had gathered in that classroom watching the action. When Duke Habberman yelled, "Yeah, baby! Get some!" the girls split apart, Sam offering the wrestler an obscene hand gesture.

"Don't, Mama, you'll get detention," Carly playfully scolded her partner, "and I have better plans for you after school now," she said slyly.

The girls walked hand in hand back into the cafeteria, where Spencer was waiting. "You know Sam's sleeping on the couch from now on," the elder Shay stated. "Can't have you two doing um... stuff... all night."

"You mean like the 'stuff' you were doing with Angela last week?" his sister countered. "She's very vocal, by the way."

Sam chimed in, genuinely interested, "Oh, really, what did you hear?"

Carly knew this was making Spencer uncomfortable, but it was so much fun, plus it was making Sam all hot and bothered, "I think it was something like, 'Oh, God, yeah, Spencer, right there...'"

Spencer was flushed red with embarrassment. "That's very disturbing when _you_ say it," he whined. "Besides, this isn't about me. I'm older than you."

"And how old _were you_ when you lost your virginity, big brother?" Carly asked as they walked past him.

"Um, uh..." Spencer stuttered, defeated. He just didn't have it in him to be parental. He turned toward the departing girls, "Carly! Sam! Guys!" He gave up as they continued walking. "Have fun" he sighed. Seeing the girls kiss as they walked down the hall, he added, "Not that much fun!"

**The End**

**So, it's done. Thanks to everyone who supported and encouraged me (you know who you are), and also to everyone who reviewed or will review. **


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